Get the scoop on whether these common tips are true or trumped-up

Fact vs. Fiction

Fact vs. Fiction

Should you swim with a full stomach? Let scrapes air out? Tinkle on a jellyfish sting? There once may have been some wisdom behind the advice (although probably not with the jellyfish sting), but many summer suggestions are outdated. With the lowdown from top experts, find out which warm-weather beliefs are based on real common sense—and which are complete nonsense.

Myth: Put butter on a sunburn.

Myth: Put butter on a sunburn.

Truth: While butter’s an accessible cool salve for a hot burn from cooking, you’re better off saving your stick for your buns. “Butter is just moisturizer with no specific burn-healing properties,” says Margaret E. Parsons, MD, an associate clinical professor in the dermatology department at the University of California, Davis. A better home cure? “Cool ice-milk compresses (crushed ice and milk on towels) are soothing,” she says. “The coolness is anti-inflammatory, and the milk is mild and not acidic, so it won’t irritate skin.” Ibuprofen, another anti-inflammatory, can also be helpful taken with water. “Then, a day or two after the burn’s cooled down, keep the skin well moisturized to help it heal,” explains Dr. Parsons. While you could use butter at this point, why waste food? Stick with petroleum jelly. But if your sunburn blisters or swells, see a doctor for topical steroid creams or oral steroids, suggests Dr. Parsons.